Not Applicable
Not Applicable
1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to a repair bracket for a structural member. More specifically this invention relates to an improved repair bracket for connective support to a structural member and a method of fabrication of the repair bracket.
2. Description of the Related Art
Frame structures typically employ parallel wooden and/or metal beams called joists and trusses as floor and ceiling support members. The joists and trusses consist of sections of wood and/or metal, with braces, bridges, and/or connector brackets attached to provide additional support and rigidity for the floor and ceiling beams. The connector brackets can be attached to cross type braces to provide additional support and rigidity of the joists and trusses. An example of the prior art for truss connectors is U.S. Pat. No. 5,819,494, issued to Haisch on Oct. 13, 1998, which discloses a truss connector including first and second plates positioned on opposed sides of a truss, and a plurality of teeth extending inward from the plates, with the teeth imbedded into the truss when the plates are connected together by fasteners extending through the plate, truss, plate combination.
When connector brackets and cross type braces are utilized, no pre-manufactured channels or pathways are provided through the top chord and/or bottom chord of a truss (either tension and/or compression members), therefore when plumbing, electrical, and heating and cooling units are placed in preferred locations throughout a building, the conduits leading to the units must be run up through the ceiling plane and/or floor plane of the trusses. Typically, installers will cut holes or sections through the structural members such as connector plates, braces, top chord or bottom chord trusses, or joists to allow for passage of appropriate conduits. The cut holes or sections through the structural members must be repaired with additional supporting brackets and wood segments attached along the sides of the structural members, to restore the structural rigidity of the cut, and to repair the load-bearing capabilities of the structural members. There is a need for a repair bracket that repairs the structural rigidity of a weakened top chord and bottom chord of a truss or paired structural members, while providing for accommodation of wide-diameter channels through paired trusses and similar structural members.
The prior art devices do not provide brackets that can be applied on either face of a weakened top chord of a truss, and prior applications were for supporting a compression member of the structural member but not a tension member, while allowing for horizontal passage of conduits through the weakened top chord of a truss.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a bracket that supports and repairs a weakened structural member to a preferred structural rigidity required for building support members.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a pair of brackets that are positionable on opposed sides of a cut pair of structural member to support and restore the integrity of the structural members.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a pair of brackets that are attachable along opposite sides of a pair of structural members at weakened sections to provide support for passage through the structural members of a conduit while maintaining the structural integrity of the structural members.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide pairs of brackets that each include an outwardly displaced mid-portion, and are connectable with commonly available wood screws along the length dimension of a pair of structural members.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method of fabrication of improved brackets utilized for strengthening of structural members.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided an improved bracket assembly that is connectable to sides of a structural member installed in a building support structure. The improved bracket assembly provides repair of a weakened portion of the structural member by connecting to one or more aligned structural members, to restore and maintain the load-bearing integrity of the structural member. The bracket assembly includes a pair of rigid brackets that are each connectable with a plurality of wood screws to opposed, outer sides of the structural member, to increase the rigidity of the structural member. Each bracket is composed of angle iron lengths having opposed end sections extending along a longitudinal axis, with a centrally positioned and outwardly displaced mid-segment. The outwardly displaced mid-segment of each bracket is positioned adjacent an opening or a section of the structural member through which one or more conduits pass, thereby providing structural support while allowing for passage of conduits through the structural member. The longitudinal length of the outwardly displaced mid-segment is sized to span and extend past an open gap of a truss, or across a gap between two aligned structural members.
Each bracket includes a plurality of equally spaced apart holes drilled along the base portion of each bracket, except for the outwardly displaced mid-segment. Cut-thread wood screw connectors are insertable into the holes for connection of each bracket to each respective outer side of the structural members. By providing each base portion with a plurality of equally spaced apart holes, and utilizing wood screws for connecting to each structural member, the bracket is connected without requiring the pre-drilling of holes into each structural member.
A method of fabrication shapes the outwardly displaced mid-segment by providing an angle iron shaped bracket and slicing cut slits into the flange mid-segment of each bracket, with each cut slit placed on opposite sides of a transverse center line of the flange mid-segment portion. A cutting step removes cut wedges from an outer pair of notches on opposite sides of the transverse center line of the mid-segment of each bracket. The flange mid-segment is bent outwards by applying a bending force against the back portion of the flange mid-segment, thereby shaping the outwardly displaced mid-segment having a preselected eccentricity outwards from the longitudinal length of the bracket. The cut wedges are bonded into each notch formed from a slit, with any protruding corners of the wedges cut off. Each bracket having outwardly displaced mid-segments shaped by the method of fabrication are positioned on opposite sides of a weakened portion of a structural member, thereby supporting and maintaining the structural integrity and rigidity of the structural member.